Authors
Hanna Kavli Lodberg-Holm, Henriette Wathne Gelink, Anne Gabriela Hertel, JE Swenson, Matej Domevscik, SMJG Steyaert
Publication date
2019/3/1
Journal
Basic and Applied Ecology
Volume
35
Pages
18-27
Publisher
Urban & Fischer
Description
Animals adapt their foraging behavior to variations in food availability and predation risk. In Sweden, brown bears (Ursus arctos) depend on a nearly continuous intake of berries, especially bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) during late summer and early autumn to fatten up prior to hibernation. This overlaps with the bear hunting season that starts on 21 August. Bilberry occurrence varies across space, as does human-induced mortality risk. Here, we hypothesize that brown bears select for areas with a high probability of bilberry occurrence across a boreal forest ecosystem in Sweden (H1), and that human-induced mortality risk reduces bear selection for bilberries (H2). In addition, we hypothesized that bears that survived the hunting season avoided bilberry areas associated with high risk, whereas bears that were later killed selected more strongly for berries and less against risk prior to the hunting season (H3). To …
Total citations
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Scholar articles
HK Lodberg-Holm, HW Gelink, AG Hertel, JE Swenson… - Basic and Applied Ecology, 2019